Penn State nears fourth straight men’s wrestling national title after 10 earn All-American status

PHILADELPHIA — Penn State is closing in on its fourth straight Division I men’s wrestling championship and its 12th in 14 years under coach Cael Sanderson.

All 10 Penn State wrestlers earned All-American status Friday. The Nittany Lions join Minnesota’s 2001 squad as the only teams to have that many All-Americans in one season.

Penn State got just three of its wrestlers through to Saturday’s finals, but the Nittany Lions have a comfortable lead with 135.5 points. Nebraska is in second place with 101.5 points and Oklahoma State is in third with 91.

One of Penn State’s finalists is Carter Starocci, who remains in contention for an unprecedented fifth national title. He defeated Oklahoma State’s Dustin Plott 9-3 in the semifinals to advance to the final at 184 pounds.

Starocci will face Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen, the defending champion at 184, in the final. Starocci’s four championships were all at 174.

Penn State’s top-seeded Mitchell Mesenbrink reached the 165 final and will face Iowa’s Mike Caliendo. Another Nittany Lion, Josh Barr, defeated the No. 1 seed, Michigan’s Jesse Cardenas, 5-3 to advance. He will face Iowa’s Stephen Buchanan in the 197 final.

Nebraska is solidly in second place after a dominant performance Friday that saw three Cornhuskers reach the finals.

Two of Nebraska’s wrestlers will face defending national champions as the Cornhuskers try to add to an impressive performance.

Nebraska’s Brock Hardy will face Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez, the defending champion at 141, in the final at that weight. Nebraska’s Ridge Lovett meets Virginia Tech’s Caleb Henson, the defending champ at 149, in that final. Nebraska’s Antrell Taylor will face Purdue’s Joey Blaze for the national title at 157.

Oklahoma State, under first-year coach David Taylor, did its part to make things interesting by putting three wrestlers in the finals — Dean Hamiti, Troy Spratley and Wyatt Hendrickson.

Hamiti defeated Penn State’s Levi Haines, a returning national champion at 157, 4-2 in the semifinals at 174. He will face Missouri’s Keegan O’Toole, a national champion at 165 in 2022 and 2023, in the 174 final.

Spratley will wrestle North Carolina State’s Vincent Robinson in the 125 final.

Iowa is in fourth place with 73.5 points and sent three wrestlers to the finals. Iowa’s Drake Ayala won his semifinal at 133 and will face Illinois’ Lucas Byrd. Buchanan defeated Cal State Bakersfield’s A.J. Ferrari, a 2021 national champion, 3-0 in a 197 semifinal to advance and join Caliendo in the finals.

Minnesota’s Gable Steveson, who has returned to college after retiring in 2022, could win his third heavyweight title. He extended his win streak to 70 matches with a 13-5 win over Lehigh’s Owen Trephan in a semifinal. He’ll face Oklahoma State’s Hendrickson, a transfer from Air Force, in the final. Hendrickson beat defending national champion Greg Kerkvliet of Penn State 8-2 in a semifinal.